Excavating wheel construction

ABSTRACT

An excavating or earth moving device comprising a rotatable wheel having a hub portion for rotatably supporting said wheel and a plurality of circumferentially spaced material moving blades projecting outwardly from the periphery thereof, said wheel comprising only a single conical disc between said hub portion and said blades. The cone apex may extend in the direction of the delivery belt and form a part of the discharge chute and it may form an extension of a hub in the form of a bearing having a slewing gear or pivoting gear or it may be mounted to extend from a cylindrical hub of usual construction. The conical disc may, of course, extend in the opposite direction and it may be advantageously reinforced by an additional conical disc extending from the end of the hub to the conical disc intermediate its radial extent.

United States Patent Brech Mar. 18, 1975 [75] Inventor: Heinz Brech, Lubeck, Germany [73] Assignee: Orenstein & Koppel AG, Lubeck,

Germany [22] Filed: June 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 369,991

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 28, 1972 Germany 7224073 [52] US. Cl. 37/189, 172/604 [51] Int. Cl E021 3/24 [58] Field of Search 37/189, 190, 91,. 70; 172/604, 555

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 19,489 3/1858 Coe 172/555 2,555,441 6/1951 Hackney 172/555 X 2,700,235 1/1955 Kolbe 37/91 X 3,020,656 2/1962 Linden 37/190 3,260,345 7/1966 Scholler 37/190 UX 3,683,522 8/1972 Rousseau et al 37/91 Primary ExaminerClifford D. Crowder Attorney, Agent, or FirmMcGlew and Tuttle [57] ABSTRACT An excavating or earth moving device comprising a rotatable wheel having a hub portion for rotatably supporting said wheel and a plurality of circumferentially spaced material moving blades projecting outwardly from the periphery thereof, said wheel comprising only a single conical disc between said hub portion and said blades. The cone apex may extend in the direction of the delivery belt and form a part of the discharge chute and it may form an extension of a hub in the form of a bearing having a slewinggear or pivoting gear or it may be mounted to extend from a cylindrical hub of usual construction. The conical disc may, of course, extend in the opposite direction and it may be advantageously reinforced by an additional conical disc extending from the end of the hub to the conical disc intermediate its radial extent.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Y 'Pmsmzn m FIGZ FIGS 1 EXCAVATING WHEEL CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates in general to the construction of excavating machinery wheels and, in particular, to a new and useful excavating device which includes a rotatable wheel having a hub portion and with a plurality of circumferentially spaced material removing blades projecting outwardly from its periphery and wherein the wheel comprises only a single thickness conical disc extending the complete distance between said hub portions and said blades.

2. Description of the Prior Art Excavating wheels which do not have any carrying buckets for the material which they remove are provided with a discharge disc. In such a construction a blade wheel comprises a supporting body which in turn is formed of two interconnecting conical shells. These shells are connected with each other by crossbars arranged in the space formed between them. The crossbars can comprise reinforcing plates with manholes or other diagonal connections. The edges or end faces of the crossbars are joined by welding with the conical shells. This requires manholes in the conical shells and welding inside the supporting body. Such a construction is disadvantageous for many reasons. In addition the supporting bodies are relatively heavy. Other excavating wheels are known which comprise a bell-shaped axle disc and a cone-shaped axle disc. The imaginery cone apices of the two axle discs are oriented in opposite directions and the cavity formed between the two axle discs serves to receive the transmission. Both axle discs are mounted over bearings on the blade wheel axle or on a driving sleeve. The blade wheel is provided with a discharge chute through which the material to be conveyed is transferred to the delivery belts. In this embodiment also the wheel body is relatively heavy, bulky and complicated because of the two large axle discs.

Another type of supporting body for excavation blade wheels are known which consist of a flat thick walled disc reinforced by attached fins. This reinforcement is necessary to achieve the required lateral rigidity of the supporting body. This embodiment too is heavy and also complicated to produce. In addition material accumulates in the interval between the reinforcing fins so that the supporting body becomes even heavier due to incrustation. In addition this also increases the possibility of corrosion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a supporting body or wheel for excavating blade wheels which is simple to produce and light in weight and which is constructed so that the material to be conveyed does not tend to settle and is easy to supervise. The blade wheel which includes a free cutting angle which is kept as small as possible, comprises a supporting body which has a single conical disc extending from the hub portion to the blades. The

of the wheel side. The supporting body comprises practically only a disc which can be produced by rolling in one direction and dirt cannot settle within the parts.

According to another feature of the invention the imaginery cone apex of the conical disc is arranged in the direction of the delivery belt and forms a part of the discharge chute. Due to this design a discharge chute is formed by the conical disc.

In another feature of the invention the supporting body can be connected with the hub in the range of the hub by an additional conical but smaller supporting disc which extends in an opposite axial direction and interconnects the disc intermediate its radial extent. In those embodiments where the wheel is driven through a ball bearing pivoting gear, the supporting body can be connected through a welded on cylindrical supporting hub to one part of the ball-bearing pivoting gear.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an excavating or earth moving device which comprises a rotatable wheel having a hub portion for rotatably supporting the wheel and with a plurality of spaced material moving blades projecting outwardly from the periphery and wherein the wheel comprises only a single conical disc which extends the complete distance between the hub portion and the blades.

A further object of the invention is to provide a excavating device which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

For an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference is made to the following description of typical embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 2 is aview similar to FIG. 1 of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of still another embodiment of the invention.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, in particular, the invention embodied therein in.FIG. 1 comprises an excavation wheel 20 which includes a hub portion 6 of cylindrical form for rotatably supporting the wheel and which includes an annular body or a ring support 2 at its outer periphery for fastening blades or brackets 3 thereto. The ring support 2 is connected by crossbars 4 with an axially spaced opposite annular body or ring support 5.

In accordance with the invention the supporting structure of the wheel includes a single thickness disc 1 which extends from the hub portion to the blades 3 and which is joined in a central region to the hub 6 by welding. In addition the construction includes a partial conical supporting disc 7 which is connected between the hub 6 and a supporting body 1 intermediate its radial extent. In this embodiment the supporting body I also forms a part of a discharge chute for the material to be conveyed (not shown) which is transferred to the delivery belt which is also not shown.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 there is provided an excavation wheel or material moving device generally designated 22 which is substantially similar to the embodiment in FIG. 1 but includes a supporting body 8 which extends from the opposite end of the cylindrical bearing 6 and which is reinforced by a short disc 7 on the opposite side thereof from that shown in FIG. 1.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 there is provided a supporting body for a blade wheel generally desig nated 24 which includes a supporting body 9 which extends from a cylindrical hub body or supporting body 10 provided for securing a part 11 ofa ball-bearing pivoting gear (not shown).

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

I. An excavating or earth moving device comprising a rotatable wheel having a hub portion for rotatably supporting said wheel and a plurality of circumferentially spaced material removing blades projecting outwardly from the periphery of said wheel, said wheel comprising only a single conical disc extending the complete distance between said hub portion and said blades, said conical disc being secured to said hub adajcent one end of said disc and sloping from said hub toward the opposite end of said disc, and including a short conical member extending between the opposite end of said hub and said conical disc and being secured to said conical disc.

2. A bucket wheel construction comprising two axially interconnected first and second annular bodies arranged in axially spaced arrangement, a plurality of circumferentially spaced cross bars extending between and interconnected to said first and second annular bodies, a plurality of circumferentially arranged buckets secured to the peripheries of said first and second annular bodies, a centrally arranged hub, a conical disc connected radially between an axial end of said hub and said first annular body only, the space between said first and second annular bodies being free excepted for said cross bars.

3. An excavating or earth moving device, according to claim 2, including a short disc member connected between said hub portion and said conical disc within the concavity thereof and being secured to said concial disc intermediate the radial length of said disc.

4. An excavating or earth moving device, according to claim 2, wherein said hub portion comprises an enlarged cylindrical part forming a housing for a pivotal ball-bearing connection 

1. An excavating or earth moving device comprising a rotatable wheel having a hub portion for rotatably supporting said wheel and a plurality of circumferentially spaced material removing blades projecting outwardly from the periphery of said wheel, said wheel comprising only a single conical disc extending the complete distance between said hub portion and said blades, said conical disc being secured to said hub adajcent one end of said disc and sloping from said hub toward the opposite end of said disc, and including a short conical member extending between the opposite end of said hub and said conical disc and being secured to said conical disc.
 2. A bucket wheel construction comprising two axially interconnected first and second annular bodies arranged in axially spaced arrangement, a plurality of circumferentially spaced cross bars extending between and interconnected to said first and second annular bodies, a plurality of circumferentially arranged buckets secured to the peripheries of said first and second annular bodies, a centrally arranged hub, a conical disc connected radially between an axial end of said hub and said first annular body only, the space between said first and second annular bodies being free excepted for said cross bars.
 3. An excavating or earth moving device, according to claim 2, including a short disc member connected between said hub portion and said conical disc within the concavity thereof and being secured to said concial disc intermediate the radial length of said disc.
 4. An excavating or earth moving device, according to claim 2, wherein said hub portion comprises an enlarged cylindrical part forming a housing for a pivotal ball-bearing connection. 